Callisto Vale

words, held with tenderness original MM romance • slow burn • explicit • 18+ Second/Frame • Chaos Instilled AO3 & Scribblehub: Callisto Vale/ Callisto Reign

[callisto-vale]

Hi, I'm Callisto — Here's What I'm Writing

🌙 Currently writing:

Second/Frame — slow-burn MM romance. A wide receiver. A sideline cameraman. One out-of-bounds collision that rearranges them both.

Kang-Choi Minjae & Seo Taesung. Football, cameras, the cost of being looked at.

📖 Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/81352681/chapters/213872616

📖 Read on Scribblehub: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/2192024/secondframe/

Chaos Instilled — slow-burn MM romance. Tokyo, 1997. The vocalist with the big mouth and the baker who shows up.

Ryuji Kawasaki & Yuta Watanabe. Underground rock, found family, and a rival with a billboard pointed at the wrong spine.

📖 Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/83150976/chapters/218986571

📖 Read on Scribblehub: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/2290334/chaos-instilled/

Both posting serially. Both quiet on the outside, loud where it counts. Slow burns that earn the heat.

AO3: Callisto Vale | Scribblehub: Callisto Reign

If you like prose-heavy MM that takes its time, you might like it here. Follow on Bluesky: CallistoVale This blog is 18+ only. Minors do not interact.

[callisto-vale]

chaos, instilled....

tokyo. 1997. four guys in a loft who had no idea what they were building.

Chaos Instilled — a slow burn MM romance about an underground rock band, a baker who shows up when it matters, and the circuit that never quite goes dark. completed. 27 chapters.

AO3 | Scribblehub

[callisto-vale]

grief stages of leaving a completed manuscript, a complete and accurate accounting…

stage 1. denial. one more read-through. just to check.

still stage 1. okay one more.

stage 2. bargaining. maybe just one scene. it's fine. i'm fine.

stage 3. depression. nothing will ever be this. these characters are never coming back. i am in mourning.

stage 4. acceptance. okay. opening the WIP. we are doing this. we are moving on.

five minutes later. still thinking about the completed one.

i have a problem. i have never been happier.

[callisto-vale]

…the moment before everything

He stands near the foot of the bed, towel low around his hips, the knot loose enough that a single tug would undo it. One droplet follows the dark line of hair down and disappears into the towel's edge.

He brings the captured hand to his mouth. His lips brush across the knuckles, soft. Then they part as he kisses the back of his hand, warm and open.

His shoulders tense first. Fingers dig into his shoulders until his knuckles whiten. His breath snags sharp in his throat. Then the grip changes. It loosens just enough to pull him closer instead of away.

Chaos Instilled — original MM romance, 1997 Tokyo underground rock scene, slow burn.

AO3 under Callisto Vale | Scribblehub under Callisto Reign

[callisto-vale]

the writer brain, a complete and accurate accounting…

book 1. complete. i love my boys. no further action needed.

ten minutes later. what if they went to new york.

ok. side arc.

book 2. cool. these guys are getting it together.

my main character just ran into the street. i have to go get him.

book 3. seattle. i've never been to seattle.

opens google maps. i live there now.

shower thought. what about chicago.

book 4. this time the guy is weird.

me. weird how.

book 4. you'll see.

i have two wips. i have a problem. i have never been happier.

[callisto-vale]

inevitable...

"I'm tired of hiding you," Minjae says softly, eyes fixed ahead.

Taesung turns his head toward him.

"I am too."

Minjae glances at him.

Taesung looks down at his hands. "At this point, it feels inevitable."

That sits between them for a second.

Then Minjae shifts closer and reaches for him, pulling Taesung in until his shoulder rests against his chest. His arm folds around him easily.

Second/Frame — original MM romance, slow burn, set in the alt-universe Korean football league of the Seoul Thunderhawks. Now posting on AO3 under Callisto Vale | Scribblehub under Callisto Reign

[callisto-vale]

close enough…

He zooms in.

Pinches the screen wider.

Pixels stretch. Break apart. Offer nothing.

He knows what enhancement can and cannot do. There isn't enough there.

Still, his chest feels tight.

He lowers the phone slowly and sinks back against the couch, staring at the ceiling for a long moment before turning his head toward the window.

Someone had been close enough to see him smile.

Close enough to lift a phone.

Close enough to try and capture what wasn't theirs.

Second/Frame — original MM romance, slow burn, alternate universe sports romance. Now posting on AO3 under Callisto Vale | Scribblehub under Callisto Reign

[callisto-vale]

the writing process in real time…

this is going to be the greatest slow burn ever written. i'm cooking. i'm seated. nobody has ever done it like this

chapter 3. world established. vibes immaculate. yearning installed

chapter 7. i forgot to name the second lead. he's been "him" for forty pages. my MC looks at me and calls me dumb

8 hours in. 3 chapters down. i am a machine. i am a god

day 2. opening the doc. who wrote this. why does he say "indeed" now. he didn't say "indeed" yesterday

day 3. adding a third character. the other two are giving me the silent treatment

day 4. my MC has packed a bag and left the story because he hates the new guy

day 5. what if i started a completely different book

day 6. back to the original book. some guy just whipped his dick out in chapter 9 and i don't know who he is or how he got in here

day 7. groveling. apologizing. the love interest accepts. my MC will not look at me

day 9. one (1) sentence written. it might be the only sentence i ever write again. i will die with this sentence

day 12. greatest slow burn ever written btw

[callisto-vale]

things i think while writing M/M sex scenes...

how long is too long for foreplay. is anyone still reading. should i kiss someone again

"a slow stripe up the column of his neck." wait. column. is neck a column. is that a thing

okay somebody's pants are off. when did that happen. did i write that

thinking back to "slick heat" and getting the ick. why did that ruin me. it's two words

he trembles. we tremble. the trembling intensifies. everyone in this scene is trembling

is "hips canting" hot or do i sound like a regency novel

read the line out loud. immediately regret reading the line out loud

"breath hitched" again. fourth time. is "hitched" still a verb or did i kill it

scroll up to check what color his eyes are. realize i've never said. panic.

[callisto-vale]

how long…

The green room is quiet. No stage hum. No voices bleeding through the walls. Just the faint buzz of the overhead light.

Kenji waits by the wall.

Ryu shuts the door behind him and keeps his hand on the knob a second longer than necessary.

"What's up," he says, aiming for casual. Missing it.

Kenji closes the door the rest of the way and turns the lock. The click lands heavy.

He crosses slowly and sits across from Ryu, elbows on his knees. Breathes in through his nose. Out through his mouth. Like he is bracing himself too.

"How long?" Kenji asks.

Ryu frowns. "How long what?"

Kenji does not look away. "Okay. I'll say it plain. How long have you and Yuta been dating."

"We're not," Ryu says too fast. His leg starts bouncing before he catches it.

Kenji nods once, accepting it but not done.

Chaos Instilled — original MM romance, slow burn, set in the 1997 Tokyo underground rock scene. Now posting on AO3 under Callisto Vale | Scribblehub under Callisto Reign

[callisto-vale]

i'm scared too…

"I didn't think it would affect me like that," he says, his voice breaking apart mid-sentence. "I just..." He stops. Swallows. "It was one person. One person and I completely..." He presses his mouth together and looks down. "If it's like that with one person, what does that mean for..."

He doesn't finish it.

He doesn't have to.

Minjae's jaw tightens. He holds Taesung's hands a little firmer.

"I'm scared too," he says.

It comes out quieter than he means it to.

Second/Frame — original MM romance, slow burn, set in the alt-universe Korean football league of the Seoul Thunderhawks. Now posting on AO3 under Callisto Vale | Scribblehub under Callisto Reign

[callisto-vale]

slow burn m/m support group...

chapter 4: maybe they should hold hands

chapter 9: nope, too soon

chapter 14: a meaningful look

chapter 19: another meaningful look

chapter 22: their fingers brush. i sob. my beta sobs. the characters do not acknowledge it.

chapter 27: he says her name softer than usual

chapter 31: HER name. i meant HIS name. WHY did i type her. who is SHE.

[callisto-vale]

thirty yards of will...

A defender lunges low. Minjae plants hard and cuts inside, turf spraying beneath his cleats.

Another defender angles in. He lowers his shoulder and absorbs the contact, spinning through it as his legs keep driving.

Now there's daylight.

He breaks into open field. The noise changes from layered to singular.

"He turned a short throw into thirty yards of will!"

Behind the lens, Taesung never moves.

Second/Frame — original MM romance, slow burn, set in the alt-universe Korean football league of the Seoul Thunderhawks. Now posting on AO3 under Callisto Vale | Scribblehub under Callisto Reign

[callisto-vale]

deep press...

Ryu kicks off his shoes and turns. Before the first word can form, Yuta grabs him.

One hand flat on Ryu's lower back, the other cradling the back of his head. He presses his lips to Ryu's mouth.

The kisses start steady, even, painting across Ryu's lips.

Ryu, face flushed deep red, clears his throat.

"Hello to you too."

Chaos Instilled — original MM romance, slow burn, set in the 1997 Tokyo underground rock scene. Now posting on AO3 under Callisto Vale | Scribblehub under Callisto Reign

[callisto-vale]

connection...

Minjae stands with his hands on his hips and looks out at the empty field.

"It's been heavy," he says finally. "Carrying it around in here every day. Practice, film, interviews, all of it. Just performing like everything is normal when there's this whole part of my life that nobody knows about." He exhales. "It gets exhausting."

Doyun nods once. He doesn't rush him.

"And it's not just me," Minjae continues. "He carries it too. We both just walk around careful all the time. At the stadium, in public, everywhere." He shakes his head. "I hate that for him."

Second/Frame — original MM romance, slow burn, alternate universe sports romance. Now posting on AO3 under Callisto Vale | Scribblehub under Callisto Reign

[callisto-vale]

no-no place...

Got it. Here's a Tumblr hook pulled from this chapter:

no-no place...

Ryu jumps onto a chair.

"You are not allowed to touch me in my no-no place!"

Toru laughs outright. Masaru smirks around his cigarette. Shin and Mika hide their faces, shoulders shaking.

Ryu fake-cries, voice cracking. "I feel so threatened!"

Naoki throws his arms around him in a dramatic hug.

Chaos Instilled — original MM romance, slow burn, set in the 1997 Tokyo underground rock scene. Now posting on AO3 under Callisto Vale | Scribblehub under Callisto Reign

[callisto-vale]

square one...

Pictures of Minjae asleep, mouth parted against the pillow. On the coastal path, shoulders squared against the horizon. In the kitchen, mid-laugh.

Small notes run along the margins.

"I will remember these days forever, arriving with love and leaving deeper in love, you complete me, no planet can reach the amount of love I have for you — M"

Taesung smiles.

"He can be pretty poetic if he wants to be," he says to the quiet apartment.

Second/Frame — original MM romance, slow burn, alternate universe sports romance. Now posting on AO3 under Callisto Vale | Scribblehub under Callisto Reign